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German Empire
The German Empire (German: Deutches Kaiserreich) is a Semi-Constitutional Monarchy in Central Europe, and one of the most powerful nations in all of the world. It is a great power, having the world's largest economy and land military. It is currently in a military and economic alliance with the Kingdom of Italy called the Venice Pact. Government A semi-consitituational monarchy, the power in the German Empire in split between the hereditarily-decided Kaiser, the Kaiser's appointed Chancellor, the Bundesrat (representing each state), and the democratically-elected Reichstag. The current Chancellor is Richsfere von Halbrecht, and the current Kaiser is Friedrich Wilhelm IV. A good portion of the power lies with the Kaiser, who appoints the Chancellor, who in turn served as the de jure head of the government and head of the Chairman of the Bundesrat. The Kaiser holds the powers to declare war, to make peace, act as a representative of the Empire, conclude treaties and alliances, interact with ambassadors, to introduce Imperial laws, and to convene the Bundesrat and/or Reichstag. The Chancellor serves over the Bundesrat, and any decrees passed by the Kasier require the Chancellor's signiture. The Reichstag and Bundesrat must reach a majority vote before a law can be passed, which are proposed by the Emperor. History Background Ever since the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the German states had been divided and at war, with unstable treaties and peaces being made across the region known as Germany. However, from the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 onward, Prussia's influence in north-central Europe was growing. Kaiser Georg IV of Prussia saw the unification of Germany as his ultimate goal. He led numberous, lightning-quick campaigns against rivaling German states across the 1840s and 50s, forming the North German Federation in 1858. Shortly thereafter, he died, leaving his son, Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, to lead the campaign to unite Germany. He led a diplomatic and militaristic campaign against the Southern German states, conquering small pieces of land and politically manuevering to obtain the others. The last state to join the new German state was Bavaria, and when they finally agreed in 1866, the German Empire was declared. Post-Formation After its formation, the Empire immediately became one of the most powerful nations in Europe. With the combined industry and manpower of all the German states, it was a rival to France, Russia, and the United Kingdom from the start. Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm III's first interest, however, was the unification of Italy. He supported the campaigns by Sardinia to unite Italy under Savoy monarchy, and was active in sending volunteer divisions to fight alongside the Sardinians, and in 1870, when Italy united, the Kaiser rejoiced. Shortly thereafter, in 1874, the Germans sent an ambassador to Venice, where they were met with Italian ambassador in return. The German ambassador delivered to the Italian that the Kaiser had put forth a plan to establish a military and economic alliance between the two. The Italian was shocked, and had to send a message to the King of Italy, Umberto Emmanuele I, asking his opinion on the proposal. Umberto was intrigued at the proposal, and ratified his approval to his ambassador in Venice. The alliance was officially ratified a week later when the Kaiser and the King met in Venice to officially announce the alliance. As most of the debate was done in Venice, it was dubbed the Venice Pact. The Pact quickly became the most influential alliance in Europe, and modernized the factionalism developed throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Under Friedrich Wilhelm III, Germany became more federalized, with some powers being taken away from Prussia. Bavaria in particular served as a major rival to Prussia, being the second-most powerful state in the Empire. It was agreed that Bavaria would have permanant membership on the board of military affairs, along with Prussia, in 1876, and in 1877 Bavaria contested Prussia's dominance over the railways of southern Germany. The patter increasingly became that the German north and south were to be dominated by Prussia and Bavaria, respectively. The local Prussian government was terrified of the idea of losing total dominance over the German Empire, while the Bavarians saw this as an opportunity to show off their glory. This power struggle would lead to a cultural divide between the north and south of Germany, however in the 1881 Austro-German War, divisions between the two sides led to several decisive defeats in Silesia and Bavaria. The Prussians, fearing the fall of Silesia, and the Bavarians, fearing the fall of Munich, agreed to put their differences aside after the Kaiser gave a speech advocating for the "Reunifcation of Prussia and Bavaria, the two nations that call themselves Germany." When Prussia and Bavaria worked side-by-side to push the Austrians back to Prague and force their surrender, the long-standing divide weakened. From 1881-1884, the focus became on creating a Germany in which Prussia and Bavaria each held their individual dominances, but still worked together as the single German nation. Swedo-German War (1884-1887) From 1879-1886, Sweden had been growing bitter. The King, Gustaf IV, was nostalgic for the days of the old Swedish Empire, which occupied Finland and held dominance over the Baltic sea. He reminded the people of Sweden's old glory, and he amped up military spending in preparation for war. He theorized that his best chance was to attack the more powerful targest first so he could overwhelm them with ambush tactics and proclaim victory. As such, he first launched a surprise attack on Rugen Island, occupying the whole of the island before declaring war. Infuriated by this surprise attack, the Kaiser ordered several divisions be stationed in Stralsund to prepare for a counter-offensive into the Swedish occupation of Rugen. The offensive was unable to launch, however, before the Swedes launched a second invasion into the west of the Prussian Baltic coast, landing an occupation with a steady line of reinforcements. The German general Viktor Rausberg ordered his troops to surround the occupation, and had them push forward. They kept up the offensive all the way to Rostock, where a large battle took place and the Germans pushed the Swedes out of the western Baltic coast. After this battle, the Naval commander Thomas Vaschung had the Imperial navy circle the southern Baltic Sea, cutting off the Swedes' supply line and starving the occupation at Rugen before pushing into the island itself, recapturing it. The Germans then offered the Swedes peace, but the Swedes refused to surrender. Vaschung and Rausber coordinated an invasion of Scania. This invasion took place in 1885, and the Germans were able to push to Malmo, where a two-month siege ensued before the city could be captured. With the Swedes still refesuing to surrender, the Germans landed a second naval invasion to the east while continuing to push north through Scania. After two years, in 1887, the Germans had reached Stockholme. Gustaf IV, in shame, stepped outisde and surrendered to the Germans. They abandonded all claims on German land, and Gustaf IV abdicated to his son, Adolf III. Modern Era After the United Kingdom decriminalized gay marriage in 1889, following the London Sexual Egalitarian Rally, the German Kaiser Freidrich Wilhelm IV signed off on a law decriminalizing homosexuality in his own country to compete. Such has seemed to spark a "Civil Rights Race," in which the powers of Europe (and to a lesser extent North America) have been racing for the moral high ground by granting civil rights to their citizens. Germany has lowered the voting age from 25 to 21, and a law legalizing female suffrage is currently under evaluation by the Reichstag. Germany has volunteers send to the French and Russian governments to help them against their respective Communist uprisings, and has also announced its support for King Alfonso XI of Spain's efforts to reinstall a more powerful monarchy in Spain. It has also condemned Fascism, the ideology put forth in Portugal by Raul Antonio. Germany and Italy have become two of the most prosperous nations in Europe under the social and economic reforms of the modern era, but still have the competition of France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and the growing threat of Portugal.